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David P. Eisenman, MD, MSHS, Deborah Glik, ScD, Michael Ong, MD, PhD, Qiong Zhou, MA, Chi-Hong Tseng, PhD, Anna Long, PhD, Jonathan Fielding, MD, MPH, MBA and Steven Asch, MD, MPH

David P. Eisenman is with the David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and the RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, CA. Deborah Glik is with the UCLA School of Public Health. Michael Ong, Qiong Zhou, and Chi-Hong Tseng are with the David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA. Steve Asch is with the VA Greater Los Angeles Healthcare System, Los Angeles, the Department of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, and the RAND Corporation. Anna Long is with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles. Jonathan Fielding is with the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Los Angeles, and the UCLA School of Public Health.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to David Eisenman, MD, MSHS, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Division of General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research, 911 Broxton Plaza, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1736 (e-mail: deisenman{at}mednet.ucla.edu).

Objectives. We sought to determine whether groups traditionally most vulnerable to disasters would be more likely than would be others to perceive population-level risk as high (as measured by the estimated color-coded alert level) would worry more about terrorism, and would avoid activities because of terrorism concerns.

Methods. We conducted a random digit dial survey of the Los Angeles County population October 2004 through January 2005 in 6 languages. We asked respondents what color alert level the country was under, how often they worry about terrorist attacks, and how often they avoid activities because of terrorism. Multivariate regression modeled correlates of worry and avoidance, including mental illness, disability, demographic factors, and estimated color-coded alert level.

Results. Persons who are mentally ill, those who are disabled, African Americans, Latinos, Chinese Americans, Korean Americans, and non-US citizens were more likely to perceive population-level risk as high, as measured by the estimated color-coded alert level. These groups also reported more worry and avoidance behaviors because of concerns about terrorism.

Conclusions. Vulnerable populations experience a disproportionate burden of the psychosocial impact of terrorism threats and our national response. Further studies should investigate the specific behaviors affected and further elucidate disparities in the disaster burden associated with terrorism and terrorism policies.

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